


Cursed She Was, Above All Others

by eleventyseven



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Penelope (2006) Fusion, Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-18 15:55:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18702772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eleventyseven/pseuds/eleventyseven
Summary: Cursed and born with scales over half of her face, Princess Shireen Baratheon spends life a prisoner in her home. Her parents believe that the only way to break the curse is to marry one of her own, so she meets a number of highborn suitors, who all reject her. Two devious men hire a disgraced highborn man, Rickon Stark, to pose as a suitor. Complications arise when he begins to fall in love with Shireen, and she makes a bid for freedom.





	Cursed She Was, Above All Others

**SHIREEN**

My parents were born into the good life. My father, a lord of his own castle and brother to a king. My mother, a proper lady. Given the fact that they were Lord and Lady of Dragonstone, they were used to attention from the media and reporters. So when they found out that they were going to have a daughter, they welcomed the attention, on what was supposed to be the happiest day of their life....

-

As history told it, my great-great grandfather Lyonel Baratheon's daughter was engaged to, at the time, a prince of House Targaryen. The prince broke off the betrothal and chose instead to marry a common girl called Jenny of Oldstones. Lyonel was extremely insulted and decided to renounce the royal family at the time and declared himself King of Storm's End, our family's ancestral lands. Following the short rebellion, Lyonel lost and re-swore fealty to House Targaryen. His son, my grandfather, then went on to marry a different member of of the Targaryen family.

But, horrified by what Lyonel had done, Jenny's witch mother placed a curse on the Baratheon family. She was determined to give these highborn brats a taste of their own medicine.

She sacrificed a stag and left it at the steps of the Baratheon home, and said that the next Baratheon girl would be born with the scales on half of her face and neck. And that the curse could only be broken when one of their own kind claimed the daughter as their own.

Time passed, and all the wives of Baratheon women lived in fear of giving birth to a daughter. But they gave birth to all sons, who fathered all sons, until finally, born to Robert and Cersei Baratheon was a daughter Myrcella, with a perfectly normal face.

Generations of worry, all for nothing.

But at the time they didn't know that Cersei had not given birth to a Baratheon, she'd given birth to a Lannister- born of an affair between herself and her twin brother.

Which meant that the first trueborn Baratheon girl was me.

-

After a day of laboring, Shireen Baratheon was born. The doctor pulled her out and held her carefully, as his face twisted into a disgusted expression.

"What's wrong?" Selyse demanded, "Give me my baby!"

The doctor stood up straight and eagerly handed the girl to her mother, wanting the monster out of his arms.

Selyse and Stannis stared down at the little girl. Black of hair, blue of eyes.... and stony scales covered half of her face and neck.

Selyse burst into tears and shoved the baby into Stannis's arms, refusing to even look at the little girl.

-

I had been reminded frequently over the years that I was not the only one who suffered because of the curse. My Aunt Cersei's infidelity had caused my Uncle Robert to divorce her, and abandon her children. But no one suffered more than my mother, who always dreamed of having the perfect child. 

My parents had tried for years and years to have children, so when they found out they were having me, they were overjoyed. But given the curse, I was a complete and utter disappointment. And my parents couldn't have any more children, so they tried their hardest to fix me. 

They tried to get the scales removed, but were told by dozens of surgeons that it was completely impossible. 

So, they did what the witch said they should. They shoved as many highborn suitors at me as they could. The only way to fix the curse, apparently, was to get a highborn man to marry me. So my mother had spent my childhood training me to be the perfect wife; learning how to cook, clean, fix my hair, play music.... 

The matchmaking setup was convenient, for sure. I was in a room with a one-way mirror; I could see the suitors but they could not see me, and we could hear each other. My parents had hired a matchmaker named Melisandre to help find me a husband. 

"Princess Shireen, my sweet, I had given up on finding someone who would truly understand me, until I met you," The man said, his hand pressed against the one-way glass. He had introduced himself as Wendel Frey. He had short brown hair and a long crooked nose, but I wasn't exactly in a position to judge people's looks. 

"Oh really?" I asked curiously, raising my eyebrow even though he couldn't see it. 

He could be the one, I thought, he might be it. 

"Like you, I've been imprisoned my whole life," Wendel said, and I let out a loud sigh. 

Nope. Definitely not the one. 

"Really? By what, your family's money or your good name?" I asked, my irritation evident. 

"By both!" He said excitedly, "No one ever seems to be able to look past that! It's always about how good I look or how much money I have or how my father's a lord... I wish that people could just see me! And if I'm more than these things, then surely you are more than your face?" 

He continued talking and I stood up, walking over to the door connecting the two rooms. The door could only be opened from my side. 

I opened it and walked out, my shoulders set back. 

"Hi," I said evenly. 

Wendel looked at me and let out a high-pitched scream. He turned and ran out into the hall, and down the stairs. The entire way he was screaming about a lizard of a girl with scales and fangs. I heard my father's best friend and the castle butler, Davos Seaworth, chasing after him. 

I took the same path he did, walking out of the suitor's room and down the stairs calmly. I didn't get upset when they reacted like that. It used to drive me to tears every time, but now it didn't even phase me. 

When I reached the end of the stairs I walked into the living room where my mother, father, and Melisandre were. They were huddled around the television, which showed live video from the suitor's side of the room. This way, they could watch and hear everything as it happened. When they heard me come into the room they all moved away, trying to act casual. 

"Why did you do that, Shireen?" My mother asked desperately, and I rolled my eyes. 

"I'm not the one who ran away," I said defensively, sitting on the couch. 

"Well of course they'll run away when you spring yourself on them like that!" She scolded, "I think he really liked you." 

"Trust me, he didn't," I said impatiently. 

She tutted, and moved towards me, cupping my face in her hands. 

"He didn't like your face," My mother corrected, "You are not your face." 

"But it's my face," I said, and she shook her head feverishly. 

"No!" She insisted, "It's your great-great grandfather's face, he did this to you! To us! You are not that face, and you are not you. The real you is on the inside, waiting to come out." 

I frowned, and she moved away from me, muttering more about my great-great grandfather. I never thought about it like she did. My face didn't reflect who I was on the inside, but that didn't mean that it wasn't me. 

All of a sudden I heard the front door slam, and Davos ran in. 

"I couldn't catch him," He said apologetically, bending over and putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. 

"I told you, we should have them sign the NDA before they meet her!" Melisandre said, and my mother nodded, hanging on to the matchmaker's every word. Melisandre could tell my mother that the sun rises in the west and sets in the east and my mother would believe her. 

"Don't worry, we will catch him," Davos promised, not bothering to hide his distaste for my matchmaker. He never did like her much. 

"We'll double her dowry," My father said decisively to Melisandre, who nodded and reached in her red leather handbag, grabbing and notebook and beginning to write in it. 

"If they don't like me now then what makes you think they'll like me for double?" I asked, turning to Davos for support. He was the only one who consistently listened to me. 

"Money can be a great motivator," My mother said, leaning over Melisandre's shoulder to read what she was writing. 

I walked out of the room and out the front door. I wasn't worried about being seen; my family lived on an island in a castle, to keep me away from the public eye. I began walking down the hundreds of steps to the beach, just wanting some fresh air. 

"You'll find the one someday, princess," A voice behind me said, and I turned to see Davos. 

"Probably not," I said glumly. 

"I'm telling you, any day now your prince charming will walk into that room and sweep you off your feet," He promised. I recognized that he was trying to make me feel better, and I appreciated it, even if it was futile. 

"Would it be too much to ask for someone to like me for me, and not because they'll get millions of dollars for marrying me and breaking this curse?" I asked. 

He didn't answer, and that was okay, because I already knew the answer. Yes, it would be too much to ask.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Updates will likely be every few days. If you have any ideas or constructive criticism, please comment and let me know!


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